Second Chances
by shli
Summary: A Gray and Liz one shot that occurs after 3x11 but before 3x12 . Reviews and feedback are encouraged and welcomed!


**Author's Note**: So, I'm a new fan of _The Border_, having only found it recently and instantly got hooked on the Gray and Liz relationship. And as a new fan, I don't know a lot of the back stories yet, so this story will be rather self-contained and more thought process rather than action or plot (which is often my style.) Here's a short one-shot that takes place after 3x11 (before 3x12) that will hopefully be enjoyable to the Gray/Liz fans out there. And if people do like it, and I'm still inspired, I may end up writing a series of Gray and Liz stories as I do for the other shows I write fanfiction for.

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**Second Chances**

He held her close – almost a little too close, if that were possible – because his arms missed the feeling of her warm body engulfed in his embrace. She was really here. This wasn't some dream or hallucination – because he'd had those before and had crashed back to reality with unbearable disappointment. He also couldn't help shake off the memory of a time when he thought he would _never _hold her again. When the most he dared to hope for was for her to just continue breathing. _"She's not expected to make it_." Gray mentally brushed away those haunting words that Maggie once said to him. She made it. Not only that, but _they _made it – together again with her back in his arms.

So, he squeezed her tighter for his own sanity, watching her sleep as he often had during their nights together. He'd always been fascinated at the sight of her chest rising and falling with each restful breath she took in his bed.

Peace.

In their line of work, it was a rare moment. When the weight of the world was not on their shoulders. When the only thought on his mind was her – just her.

Now, her chest had two faint reminders of the day he'd almost lost her for good. It didn't make her less beautiful. In fact, for Gray, it made her all the more precious and more beautiful. They would be a constant reminder of how much he loved her, how he couldn't imagine living in a world without her in it… and how he once nearly gave up on living because he thought she wouldn't be. But that seemed like a forever ago. That was another life. Losing Layla and his father – and nearly losing Liz – had set his priorities straight on what was most important in life. And she was in his arms once again.

He could scarcely believe it when he'd opened the door to his new apartment hotel and saw her standing there in the doorway with a bottle of alcohol. Except this time, the bottle remained untouched. The only drug either of them needed was each other. And desperately so.

It was almost as if they'd come full circle. The first time she'd appeared at his door in that manner had started their affair. And the second time had started their relationship.

He was in this for the long haul, and he'd do whatever it took for them to be together. This night marked their first as being a couple. A real, grownup couple. The kind that made home-cooked meals or vacationed in Brazil together. The kind that celebrated achievements or carpooled to work together. He wanted all that – and more. He wanted her to be the first thing he saw every morning and the last thing he saw every night.

Liz stirred, jarring Gray from his thoughts of their future. He stilled the fingers that had been absent-mindedly tracing the scars on her chest. Without ever fully waking, Liz turned towards Gray and nuzzled closer into his chest, moving the hand that had been on her chest to around her waist. After settling into her newly made cocoon of Gray's chest and arm, Liz rested her arm on his hip and intertwined her legs with his in order to stave off the cold.

Gray smiled as he kissed the top of her head. Her hair smelled of his shampoo. And though he preferred smelling the familiar floral scent of her own shampoo, he couldn't help but get some satisfaction out of the fact that she smelled like him. He guessed it was that basic male instinct to mark one's territory. She was his. Not that she would appreciate being labeled as such, but she was his as much as he was hers. She had ruined him for any other woman. The days of one-night stands and casual flings were behind him. The only woman for him was Liz – now and forever.


End file.
